Bringing tsunami home

Northwestern University joined a viedo conference with Sri Lankans who told how they survived and how participants could help

January 27, 2005|By Sean D. Hamill, Special to the Tribune.

The 20 college students and community members who gathered Wednesday in Evanston for a video conference aimed at helping Sri Lanka had seen plenty of harrowing news reports about last month's tsunami.

But it was a different, more moving experience, many said, to hear a firsthand account from a woman who told them how she and 30 family and friends were caught in the crushing water.

"We don't know how far or how long we ran," said Kumudini Fernando, a resident of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. "But then a huge wave twice my height was trying to catch us. I was covered with water and floating, and I lost all feeling. I thought it was my last.

"But I went against a tree and grabbed on and hung like a monkey and saw my daughter in front of me, then a niece carrying a baby, and then I looked around and saw nieces, my husband and grand nieces. We were then put on a rooftop" for safety.

Two members of their group died in the flooding, she said.

Through an Internet hookup, Fernando, Sri Lankan officials and others from that country addressed the gathering at Northwestern University, one of 11 universities in the United States and England that participated.

The conference was hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy, a New Haven, Conn., student group that seeks to improve America's international image.

Despite the 7 a.m. start in Evanston--necessary because of the 12-hour time difference with Sri Lanka--students filled the small classroom, watching and, at times, participating in the two-hour conference.

Sarah Bush, 22, a Northwestern senior who organized the gathering, said she was moved by Fernando's description.

"It was really just a way to put a personal face on the tragedy," she said. "It made it real."

Sri Lankan officials and residents told their American and British audience that help will be needed long after the cleanup is completed.

"We estimate that restoring basic health infrastructure could take one to two years," said Dr. Kan Tun, a World Health Organization representative working in Sri Lanka. "Our humanity is being put to the test."

Other officials cited local aid groups that need help, organizations that Americans for Informed Democracy will list on its Web site at www.Partners4Progress.org.

Northwestern senior Benjamin Hirsh, 22, asked how medical problems are being handled, since much of the country's medical infrastructure near the coasts was destroyed.

The country was fortunate not to have a major disease outbreak in the first month after the tsunami, Tun said.

"We need to strengthen the health system," Tun said. "The infrastructure is there. But we need to improve the management system."

Many of the questions from students dealt with how effective the Sri Lankan government has been in responding to the disaster. Several government officials said they thought the response has been generally going well.

But Wijey Wickrema, a retired World Bank employee watching with students in Washington, said he got a different impression during the three weeks he spent in Sri Lanka trying to coordinate relief efforts.

"The provincial administration and the administrative structure is excellent, but it's not working," Wickrema said.

The government doesn't offer enough support to those trying to help--a serious problem as billions of dollars in aid are coming to the region, he said.

Though English was spoken during the conference, occasionally something was lost in translation, said Jack Blane, a representative from Rotary International who participated in Evanston.

When Blane asked how his not-for-profit organization could best help, he was told that Rotary's assistance would be welcome.

"I think it makes us all very aware of the difficulties of trying to help people when they're halfway around the world," Blane said later.